


Valentines Day

by IsharaYar



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Adventure, F/M, Fluff, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-15
Updated: 2016-02-15
Packaged: 2018-05-20 18:59:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6021286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IsharaYar/pseuds/IsharaYar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Kaidan has a nice Valentines day dinner organized on the Citadel with Jack, things don't exactly go according to plan.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Valentines Day

Jack peered at her reflection in the mirror of their temporary quarters on the Citadel. A lot had changed over the past four years since the reaper attack and she was one of them.

Many of the mass relays had been repaired, although not all of them. Many of the homeworlds were still in various states of repair. The Grissom Academy was the personal project of both herself and Kaidan. Finally after three years of hard work, it was ready to open the doors to the next generation of human biotics. That alone was worth celebrating.

This day however was all Kaidan's, at his insistence. It had been the same for the past four years. An earth tradition he called it, Valentine's day. Jack had never really been big on romance, not like Kaidan was. It was a holiday that he insisted on and one she indulged him in because, she loved him. Shepard had rescued her from the prison and taught her that not all friendships came with a price but Kaidan, he was the one who taught her how to open her heart. He showed her that all the things a younger Jack had only dreamed of being possible, really was within her reach.

That was why she was standing there in a dress, ready to leave for one of the most romantic restaurants on the Citadel. It was the first valentines day since the Citadel became operational again, he insisted on the station because it was where they had first met. Another one of his more romantic tendencies.

Her idea of a good night was staying in, clothing optional. It certainly didn't include a _dress_. So, it was black, it did fit like a second skin against her body and had a hole on either side that extended from just below her breast line to just above her hips. Almost showing as much bare skin as she liked. Almost. However, it was still a dress and it wasn't made from leather like her preferred attire. It was simply required when attending a romantic restaurant which was why, normally she wouldn't go near such places.

She had let her hair grow out over the past years and for the night she left it loosely hanging around her shoulders. The barcode tattoos that were once required as a constant reminder of her imprisonment no longer were, her hair completely covered them. For all the small changes she had undergone in those years, there were just as many things about her that had not changed.

Kaidan's face appeared in the mirror as he stuck his head around the doorway, "Hey. Are you about ready to go? Our reservations are for seven." His eyes then left hers as they trailed over the rest of her body, "Wow. You look amazing."

Jack turned to face him and raised her eyebrows with a sly smile. "Amazing enough to rip this dress off me and do me right here?" she asked with a sultry tone.

Kaidan's eyes darkened as he moved forward, closing in on her quickly. His fingers found the gap in the side of her dress, the intermingling of their biotics elicited a small shock as they connected with her bare skin. "Very much so," he whispered next to her ear. "However I am going to hold on to those thoughts until later."

"Clearly I didn't try hard enough," she mumbled as she brushed past him.

She didn't miss the sharp intake of breath he drew in when she purposely swayed her hips, maybe it wouldn't be so bad after all. Not if she could spend the evening torturing him like that.

The walk from their apartment to the taxis took a little under ten minutes. Just as it was before the Citadel had been destroyed by the reapers, there was a large crowd waiting in line for the limited number of sky vehicles that were available. Of course Kaidan could have used his spectre status to get them to the front of the line but, just like him, he chose to follow the rules and not use his power unless it was necessary. Not even for something small like jumping a taxi line. Actions like that were a stark reminder of just _how_ different the two of them were. Sometimes Jack wondered how they managed to hold a relationship together, let alone make it work as well as it did.

As they stood in line talking quietly, Kaidan's hand rested against the small of her back. The group of people waiting had been fairly tame until a number of very inebriated turians joined the fray. One of the turians pointedly trailed his eyes over Jack's body as he approached the two.

"Well what do we have here, a human woman who actually knows how to dress," the turian slurred. The look in his eyes as they continued to rove over Jack was very pointedly heated.

Instinctively her fists clenched by her side as she glared at the offending turian. Kaidan must have seen the clenching or the look in her eyes because he said her name like a warning to keep her temper under control. "Jack.."

"When your done with the boy scout here maybe I can show you some _real fun_ ," the turian added without the slightest sign of being put out by her glare.

"Maybe when you are sober you can crawl back under whatever fucking rock you came from," Jack bit at him.

The turian laughed as he stepped closer, "Ohh I like her, she's got fire in those eyes."

Jack's fists clenched even tighter as a blue glow of biotic power started building up around them, extending as far as her elbows.

"Maybe you should step back a bit," Kaidan tried as he addressed the offending turian. "We don't need an incident do we?"

"Oh, what are you going to do huh? Protect your little woman here?" the turian slurred as he swayed. "I'll bet you couldn't even step on a bug." He reached his hand out towards Jack, going straight in for grabbing her ass.

She swung hard the second he made contact. The power behind her swing knocked him into his friends, who failed to stop his fall before he landed on his bottom.

"Obviously she can take care of herself," Kaidan mumbled under his breath.

The turians only reaction was to laugh in response as he scrambled back to his feet, "You just made your first mistake." The group he was with started fanning out around them. All of a sudden each turian in the group pulled out a weapon and pointed them at pair.

Jack grabbed Kaidan's arm before the turians could completely surround them and pulled him towards a nearby alley. Although they both had their combined biotics neither of them were armed. Even they would have a hard time against a group of angry, armed turians without their own weapons to assist.

"Seriously you couldn't go one night without getting us into a firefight?" Kaidan grumbled as they ran.

"Yes, because it was my fault some fucking turian decided to be an ass," Jack bit back.

They slowed to a stop glaring at each other when it appeared as if they hadn't been followed.

"The guy was drunk. _You_ could have just slapped his arm away and been done with it," Kaidan said with frustration.

"Let's not even mention how _you_ seem to be fine with some other guy groping your girlfriends ass," Jack hissed.

"Of course I wasn't fine with it. I just thought the situation could be resolved peacefully for a change. That just maybe, we could make those dinner reservations on time," he yelled back at her.

Jack's eyes caught sight of movement behind Kaidan. As she looked closer she could see a group of turians moving up on them.

"Jack, behind you," Kaidan said quietly so that the pursuers wouldn't hear him.

"Behind you as well," Jack replied gravely.

They were cut off from both sides, the only chance for escape being a door that she hoped was unlocked.

"The door," they both said at the same time.

"Ready?" Jack asked as the turians moved closer.

Kaidan nodded in response. It was a routine they weren't new to. He ran for the door as Jack’s biotic power built up. She lept into the air with her arm out and palm facing down to the ground. As she landed a shockwave of biotics spread out across the ground knocking the front line turians into those behind them. As Kaidan got the door open they both rushed inside and closed it behind them.

They found themselves in a completely empty room with another door, directly opposite the one they had just came in from. However, as they stepped towards the next door there was a very distinct sound of locks clicking into place.

Kaidan tried the panel anyway and grumbled as it flashed red under his touch. "Great. Now we are trapped."

"There has to be some way out of here," she said as her eyes scanned the length of the room.

"Let's see, two doors, both locked. A set of air ducts so small that a mouse could barely fit through them. I would say that equals pretty screwed," he said with annoyance.

Jack sighed as she leaned up against the wall and then said words that rarely ever passed her lips. "I'm sorry. You were right, this was my fault. We could have been eating dinner by now, instead we are stuck in some room with no way out."

"No. I'm sorry," Kaidan replied. "I shouldn't have gotten angry, it wasn't your fault that guy was an ass. In your place I would have done the same thing."

"No you wouldn't," Jack said knowingly. "You would have found some smooth way to charm your way out of it."

"Where do you think we are anyway?" He asked.

"I'm not sure. Going by the direction we took, probably somewhere behind the armax arena," she answered.

"Well that rules out anyone actually hearing us," Kaidan said grimly.

"At least your sense of direction seems to be sound." The voice of the turian who had harassed Jack came out clearly over some kind of speaker system. "You two played right into our little trap perfectly. Now if you will just sit tight, without trying to escape we should have these safety systems hacked in no time. Then we have a little show planned, I do hope you enjoy fighting reapers."

"We really are screwed," they both responded at the same time.

"At least your tux and shoes are more suitable for combat," Jack added. "Have you ever actually _tried_ fighting in heels?"

"Maybe you should take them off," Kaidan suggested.

"Is that your way of trying to get me out of my clothes Alenko? I think the apartment would have been a more suitable time for that," she teased.

"The simulation starts in five minutes. Given it is your only way out of here I suggest you be ready when that door opens," the turian interrupted. "Do at least try to stay alive, it will be more entertaining for our guests."

"You ready?" Kaidan asked with concern.

"Who me? I was born ready to kick ass. We’ve been in worse scrapes than this," she responded.

"That at least is true," Kaidan said with a grin that didn't quite reach his eyes. "So let's kick some ass, show these turians how it's really done then get back to removing that dress."

"I’ll hold you to that," she said as the far door slid open.

As they carefully approached the door, the scene Kaidan could see was totally different to what he expected.

Jack watched his expression closely as realisation started to set in. Beyond the door was a vast expanse of simulated snow leading up to a much smoother icy surface with strobing coloured lights dancing across it. The frozen lake was an exact replica of a lake Kaidan's family used to go ice skating on when he was a child.

Off to one side, nestled on the snowy bank was a blanket, candles and a vast array of Canadian food. Jack could smell the steak and bacon before they even took more than three steps inside.

"You did all of this?" Kaidan asked in awe.

"I may have had a little help," Jack admitted.

"And the turians?" Kaidan asked.

Jack chuckled as she took his arm and lead him towards the blanket. "Friends of Garrus who were more than willing to assist in surprising one of the humans who helped defeat the reapers."

As they settled down on the blanket, the strobing lights over the lake began to flicker and then change. The beams shifted until they pointed at the far side of the room. A heart began to take shape on the wall and then words appeared in the middle of the heart.

_Marry me_.

She had tried more times than she could count to actually _say_ those words but she could never manage to make her voice cooperate.

Kaidan turned his eyes back to her. She could see clearly from his intense expression just how much he really did love her. "For real?" he asked, his voice husky with emotion.

"For real," she whispered as she tilted her head forward until the foreheads were touching.

"Yes," Kaidan replied. "one thousand times yes. I don't think it is possible to love anyone more than I love you right now."

"I love you too," she responded with her very rarely heard, shy tone of voice.

Kaidan pressed his lips to hers as he pulled her in close. Jack responded by pouring everything she felt for him into that kiss before she pulled back breathless.

"Kaidan," she whispered against his ear. "The lights aren't done yet."

He looked puzzled for a moment, until his mind registered what she had said. He turned his eyes away from her to look up at the lights on the wall.

More words began to form as the lights repositioned.

_There is just one more thing you need to know…_

The words faded out and the lights moved again. Slowly they formed a picture of a baby in a crib with a replica of the normandy hanging on a mobile above it.

Kaidan's eyes widened as his head snapped back to look at her again. "We are having a baby?"

Jack just nodded in response, not trusting her voice to work behind the rush of pure emotion she was feeling.

"I was wrong, it is possible to love you more." He captured Jack's lips as he gently pushed her back down onto the blanket that was covering the snow.


End file.
